: not to be modified or evaded : strict
a hard-and-fast rule

Examples of hard-and-fast in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Medicine, dentistry, accounting—don’t have these hard-and-fast ownership rules. Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 But sticking within a color scheme is no hard-and-fast rule. Sacramento Bee, 30 Jan. 2024 There was no particular hard-and-fast routine that followed each man’s agreement to collaborate within the Scorsese-Robertson partnership. A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 16 Jan. 2024 There are no hard-and-fast rules about how much to tip anywhere, of course. Emily Heil, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023 The only hard-and-fast rule is that the audience is not permitted inside the fight. Joshua Needelman, Curbed, 1 Nov. 2023 About the age guidelines Our kids thought that the age recommendations might be more of a suggestion than a hard-and-fast rule, though. Julia Pelly, Parents, 24 Oct. 2023 There’s no hard-and-fast income cut-off for who can and can’t take the mortgage interest deduction, but according to Cirksena, your tax bracket can help guide you to the right decision. Aly J. Yale, wsj.com, 12 Oct. 2023 But the truth is that 30 percent ceiling isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. Michelle Singletary, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hard-and-fast.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1822, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hard-and-fast was in 1822

Dictionary Entries Near hard-and-fast

Cite this Entry

“Hard-and-fast.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard-and-fast. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hard-and-fast

adjective
ˌhärd-ᵊn-ˈfast
: not to be changed : fixed
a hard-and-fast rule
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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